There's Something You Should Know
by swirling-summernotes
Summary: Plans suck. They never turn out how they're supposed to. They never pan out exactly right. Rose always had a plan - and a back up plan for that matter. But having Albus leave his underwear in the kitchen sink was not part of the plan. Falling for her best friend was definitely not in her plans. But somehow, Scorpius Malfoy had wriggled his way into her life and refused to budge.
1. Chapter 1

**note**: hello, hello! thankyou for taking the time to click the link to ready this story. hopefully, it lives up to your expectations. i haven't written in so, so long and my early work is not much. i'm excited about this story because i really wanted to write something for my own enjoyment, and i have to say, it's been so fun writing it thus far. rose has pretty much written this story for me - i just go where she leads me! anyways, this story is just meant to be a cutesy, cliched fic, and it won't be very long, either, maybe 9 or so chapters. anyways, here's chapter one!

* * *

_we're up all night to get lucky_

**Daft Punk**

-:-

My personal advice to all the girls out there who want to room with a boy – don't.

If dirty underwear in the kitchen sink doesn't turn you away (I'm not kidding), think of all the painful morning-afters you'll have to endure, when a random girl walks into the kitchen in sloppy socks and an oversize shirt (and then proceeds to freak out when she realizes heaven forbid, a_ girl_ lives here). If that still doesn't turn you away, try moldy peanut butter in the back of the fridge, and smelly socks in the entrance. And if that doesn't do it for you, picture this.

My hair had slipped out of the pristine French twist I had put it in this morning. The rag in my hand was disgustingly dirty, heavy with alcohol and water. I wiped at the spills on the counter, trying to block out the loud music that was coming from the speakers.

"Hey, Rosie, want a drink?" Albus sauntered over to me, a Firewhiskey in one hand, and throwing his free arm over my shoulders, "or did I already ask you? I forget." His eyes were glassy, and he was clearly very, very far from sober.

I snorted. "Of course you forget. And no, I don't want a drink, but thanks for asking me three times tonight." I shook his arm off my shoulder and went in pursuit of Max, who was dancing on the table like the whole world was watching – which, in all honestly, they were.

Albus followed me, hot on my heels. "Seriously Rosie, one drink won't hurt, I promise!"

"Max, get _off _the table, you'll scuff it up! Albus, get your arm_ off _my shoulder!" I whirled around to face my cousin. "Listen mister, drink all you want. I personally, have no desire to get kicked out of this flat for making too much noise or because the ceiling caved in-" at this I gestured wildly to Max – "but next time you throw a party, _you're_ on cleanup duty, because_ I _will be too drunk to remember my own name."

Everytime Albus threw a party (which was often enough) we agreed that one of us would get stay sober to keep an eye on things. We swore we would rotate, but, no surprise here, I was usually the one with the rag cleaning up after everyone.

I arrived at the kitchen just in time to see James throwing up in the sink, and his friend Liam clapping him on the back. To the right of him, Albus had propped some girl on the counter to get proper access to her mouth but was dangerously close to the fish tank that rested there. Before my cousin's roaming hands could knock it over, I grabbed the tank and whisked it into my room.

The music thumped through my head in the worst way, and the whole flat reeked of booze and sweat. I could barely make out any faces throughout all the bodies, and after positively the worst day I'd ever had my internship, all I really wanted to do was grab hot chocolate and watch Hugh Grant films.

But no. I was stuck watching over my flat, making sure it didn't catch on fire and watching all my friends get drunk and have the time of their lives.

And they say the twenties are the best part of your life.

So ladies, take it from me – room with the girls. Or better yet, room alone.

I was doing my best to scrub out the stain in the kitchen chair that looked like Muggle grape soda when I heard the front door open and close.

"Hey, Rosie," Scorpius said, lifting himself up on the countertop. "How's the cleaning going?"

I rubbed my wrist against my eyebrow. "It's going fine. I'm trying to get this bloody stain out of this chair but it's obviously not working."

My best friend sighed in exasperation. "For God's sakes, Rose, use your wand."

I raised my head to look at him sitting on the counter, feet banging in rhythm against the cabinets. "No! I've told you so many times how I don't want to be reliant on that wand for every single little thing. It's just not necessary." I turned my head back to concentrate on the stain, but my stomach was already swirling with butterflies.

How annoying.

I watched as he jumped off the countertop and walked to the other side of the chair, cleaning up with grape stain with a simple flick of his wand. I slapped him on the arm, then stood.

I took his place on the countertop, leaning my head against the cabinets and sighing loudly. Scorpius opened the fridge next to me, and rummaged around, emerging with a plate of last night's pasta. He leaned against the counter next to me as he ate, and I enjoyed the moment of peace.

As peaceful as a flat full of bodies and music can be, that is.

"So," I said, finally breaking the silence between us, "why aren't you dancing and drinking with the rest of them?"

He shrugged. "I had every intention of it when I walked through the door, but you kind of killed my partying vibe, to be honest. With your cleaning and whatnot."

I shoved his shoulder. "Blame Albus," I said simply. I opened a drawer beside me with my nylon-clad foot, and leaned down to grab a fork. Scorpius set the plate down between us.

"Look who walked in," Scorpius said after a heartbeat, pointing his fork in the direction of the door. I turned my head to the front entrance to see Louis walking in with more alcohol. "You gonna stop him?"

I shook my head. "If this had been about two hours ago, maybe. But I'm tired. And I don't care. And Albus will pay for all the damages. And-"

"-you're never letting him have a party at this flat again as long as you both shall live," Scorpius finished for me.

I sighed and rubbed my nose. "Am I that obvious?" Scorpius speared the last noodle on his fork and handed it to me. I gratefully took it and stuck it in my mouth. Chewing, I said, "I'm serious this time. No more parties. At least, not while he's drunk. If he wants to throw a party, he's the one who's going to be sober next time."

"You said that last month. And the month before that." He crossed the kitchen in two steps and put the plate and two forks in the sink. I hadn't the energy to tell him to wash it and put it away.

"Maybe you should head to bed," Scorpius suggested. "It's past midnight. Don't worry, I promise to keep an eye on things out here."

Somewhat reluctantly, I nodded. "Goodnight, Scor."

"See you, Rosie_._"

Giving him a last grin, I jumped down from the countertop with as much grace as I could muster and headed to my bedroom towards the back of the flat.

Our flat was a three bedroom. When we first moved in, I desperately wanted to transform the third bedroom into a library slash study, but Albus was firm – the third room was to be a bedroom for Scorpius. Scorpius had his own flat not ten minutes from us, but most days (and evenings) he was here. He said it was because it got boring on his own (and while I'm sure it did) I knew that had it been his choice, he would be living here full time. But I also knew his father would never approve of that. He wanted Scorpius to be making "smart choices" and get a "good head start on his career, without any distractions, thankyou very much."

I tried not to take it too personally.

* * *

I don't know how long I had been asleep for when I heard my bedroom door open softly. Turning over, I squinted my eyes at the small beam of artificial light that was streaming in from the hallway. The lack of pulsing music and loud chatter told me the party had finally broken up.

"Al?" I whispered sleepily, bringing my arm to my forehead, "what are you doing in here?"

"Lucy and Lily are staying over. In my bed. Shove over."

"Use Scorpius' room."

"He's here, too."

"Fine. Go around." I hated not sleeping close to the door, and he knew that.

Never one to do things the simple way, Al stood on top of the bed, climbing over me to get to the other side of the bed and stepping on my calf in the process. I felt him climb under the covers next to me, then settle down.

After a few minutes of silence, he whispered. "Y'know, you should really tell Scorpius."

I rolled over onto my side to face him. He was lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"You're drunk," I whispered back.

"Maybe a little," he said, "but whether I'm drunk or not, I still think you should tell him."

Albus was the only person who knew about my feelings for our mutual best friend. To be fair, he sort of figured it out himself. It was two years after Hogwarts that I realized my feelings – by that time, we were all out of (London's College of Wizardry), fresh out of dorm rooms and exams, looking for flats and internships and jobs and starting our lives. And I realized that while I would always have Al, always have Hugo, always have my family, Scorpius was not anchored to me in way beyond friendship. Which scared me. Over time, I realized the reason why it scared me so much was because I had feelings for him. And that almost scared me more.

So, a year after that, there I was. With a flat, a paid internship (that didn't pay much, but it paid) and still harbouring secret feelings for my best friend.

How cliché.

Albus turned his head to face me. "You never know, Rosie."

"I'm scared."

"Yeah, I would be, too. But you're Rose Weasley. You're not scared of anything."

I snuggled deeper into my blankets and did my best to fall back asleep.

* * *

The next morning, I woke to rain pattering on the window and Al's soft breathing beside me. I looked at the clock on my nightstand – 10:30- and thanked a higher power that it was Saturday.

"Al," I said, after ten minutes. "Al, wake up." He didn't move.

"Al."

"Albus!"

I sighed. "'I'll tell Harry and Ginny what you were really doing in the Quidditch shed with Francesca Parkinson in our seventh year."

Still no response.

I shook his shoulder, finally rousing him from his sleep. His eyelids fluttered open as he woke, fixing his eyes on me.

"What do you want," he grumbled, turning his face into his pillow.

"It's time to get up," I said, "it's almost eleven."

"It's still morning. Leave me alone," came the muffled reply.

"Get up, you big lump."

"I'm hungover."

"I know that. That's why you need to get up, eat something and take some potion. Then maybe you can sleep it off some more."

He lifted his head from his pillow, his big green eyes staring at me. "You made more hangover potion?"

I nodded.

"Rosie, have I ever told you how you're the best cousin in the whole wide world?"

"Once or twice. Now get up, before Lily and Lucy take it all."

With that, I threw the duvet off me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. The two of us padded into the kitchen to find Lily nursing a cup of tea.

"Their Highnesses the King and Queen have finally arose," she exclaimed. Albus moaned and groaned dramatically, whining about his hangover.

"Where'd you put the hangover potion, Lily?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I didn't touch it this time. Didn't need it, I hardly had anything to drink."

"What?" Albus and I exclaimed at the same time in mock horror. "Lily Luna Potter, didn't _drink_?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. No, I did not. I wasn't in the mood."

To say that Lily wasn't in the mood for alcohol was like saying a dog wasn't in the mood for peanut butter. It just didn't happen. Something was bothering her, but I didn't press it. Maybe she was just finally maturing.

Ha-ha. Right.

Locating the hangover potion, I poured some in a glass for Albus, who took it gratefully and drank it all in one shot.

I turned back into the kitchen, starting on a pot of coffee, and sticking two pieces of bread in the toaster. "Lucy still sleeping?"

Lily shook her head. "No, she didn't stay the night, actually."

"What do you mean?" Al asked. "You all said you were staying over."

Lily shrugged. "I know. I went to bed at the same time as you, but Lucy never came." Her eyes glinted with mischief. "Do you think she left with Scorpius?"

My insides felt like they were being doused with icy water. I gripped the edge of the countertop and busied myself with spreading butter and jam on the two slices of toast.

Albus stood. "I'll go see if Scorpius is in his room."

I spread the jam all the way to the corners of the toast, so harshly that I squished one of them.

Coming to take his seat again at the table, he said "Nope. No sign of him."

I poured the coffee into two mugs, one with milk, one with two sugars, and busied myself with stirring them. Grabbing the two plates and two mugs, I carried them over to the table, refusing to meet Albus' eyes. I slid one plate in front of him, along with the coffee containing two sugars.

Lily grinned. "Maybe they did go home together. Can you imagine?"

"Lily. Enough." Albus glared at his sister. "Don't you have a job to get to, or something?" Lily worked as a sales assistant at Madame Malkins. She had opted to take a gap year after graduation.

Lily rolled her eyes, not picking up on his frustration or on my silence. "Yeah. I start in ten minutes." Standing up, she deposited her mug in the sink. She gave me a kiss goodbye, and Dispparated.

We ate in mostly silence, and I could feel Albus giving me sideways glances the whole time. After we had nearly finished, he spoke up.

"Rosie, you don't know he left with her," he said. "They could have just left at the same time. He's probably at home right now, alone, reading or something."

I finally met his eyes, green and searching mine. "Yeah," I said with a forced half-smile, "you're probably right. Besides, I have nothing to be upset over, right? It's none of my business. If he wants to sleep with random whores, he can sleep with random whores."

"Rose,"Albus warned, "Lucy is not a random whore. She's our cousin, don't be mean."

The use of my proper first name on his tongue felt funny to my ears, and I knew he was serious.

"I know, I had no right to call her that," I apologized looking into the bottom of my empty coffee mug. I stared at the sticky grinds. "So you think they _did _sleep together, don't you." It was statement that meant to come out as a question, and somehow having it come out a statement made it seem more official.

"I never said that!" Albus defended.

"Well, you implied it."

"When?!"

"When you said 'Rose, Lucy isn't a random whore, she's our cousin'. Which means you think he probably slept with her, and saying that since she did sleep with him, that didn't make her a random whore."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Rosie, you seriously have to stop looking so deep into these things. I only meant that in the hypothetical sense."

I remained silent. I was getting nauseous, and I couldn't even blame it on a hangover. Albus gathered our breakfast things, and put them in the sink. "Wash them, please," I said listlessly. His back was to me as he washed at the sink, and I stared at his jet black hair for a few minutes, trying not to think of Scorpius in boxer shorts and Lucy in an oversize t-shirt, drinking tea at the kitchen table.

Benedick, our all-black cat, jumped into my lap, and I stroked him absent-mindedly. Statistically speaking, the percentage that Scorpius and Lucy _had_ hooked up was maybe only forty percent, considering the amount of attention he paid to her on daily basis (hardly anything, they barely even saw each other) and how well they knew each other (not well. Lucy was Lily's age, and they weren't exactly the greatest of friends). However, as much as I tried, I could not get the sixty percent out of my head.

"Hey," I said, "whatever happened to that girl you were making out with last night?"

Albus magicked with dishes into the cupboard, where they gently stacked themselves. Closing the door, he turned to face me.

"Eh. Not worth my time. Much too whiny for my liking." He flicked the remaining soap on his hand onto my nose. Scrubbing it off, I looked at him in mock amusement.

"Albus refused a hookup? First Lily refusing a drink, and now this? What is going on with the Potters?"

"You're such an ass, Rosie," he said, taking off toward the bathroom.

"You love me," I sing-songed. "And don't take ages in there, I need to get ready."

"Why? Got a hot date?" He called from the back of the flat.

"No, I'm meeting Scorpius today. He has to pick out a present for his little sister's birthday."

A knock at the door interrupted whatever Albus was going to say next. "Rose?" A voice called from the other side of the door. "It's me, Max!"

"Come in!" I yelled.

"It's locked."

I stood to open the door. "Sorry about that," I said sheepishly once I opened the door.

He smiled. "No big deal." Closing the door behind him, I turned to face the six foot four eighteen year old standing in my kitchen.

"Albus is just in the shower if you were looking for him.." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Max and I had never been the best of friends. He was the twin brother of Lily's best friend, Peyton, and being two years older, I never took the time to get to know him properly.

"No, actually, I just came to see if I left my sweater here last night?"

"You did, actually, I saw it this morning on the couch. Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back," I replied with a smile. I set off in the direction of the living room, and located the blue sweater that was resting on the back of the sofa.

Max was sitting at the kitchen table when I returned. "Here," I said, handing him the sweater, "I do believe this is yours."

"Thanks, Rose." He took the sweater from me and made to stand up, but hesitated. "I'm sorry if this is out of place, but um, I was just wondering about Lily? Did she, uh, seem funny to you last night?"

A blush had spread to the back of his neck, and I took a seat across from him. Frowning, I replied, "I don't think so. I didn't really talk to her last night, and she seemed fine to me this morning. Why?"

Max shrugged. " I don't know, but she was just acting really strange. She wasn't looking at me properly, and she was avoiding me the whole evening."

"Now that you mention it, she said she didn't even drink last night, which is really unlike Lily. Maybe you're right, maybe there is something wrong and we've all been stupid and haven't noticed!" I furrowed my brow worriedly, trying to think of anything that might be upsetting Lily.

"Ever since last night, after I introduced her to Victoria, she hardly looked at me the rest of the night."

"Hang on," I said, holding up my hand, "Rewind. Who's Victoria?"

"Vicky? She's a girl I work with, I brought her to the party last night. I introduced her to you, don't you remember?"

Now that he mentioned it, I did vaguely remember him coming with a pretty brunette. "Never mind," I said, shaking my head. "That's not important." The "wheels in my head were turning" as Scorpius liked to say. If Lily only ignored Max after he brought a girl, then that might mean one thing. And if she was too upset to even drink it off, she must really like the man sitting in front of me.

Well, colour me purple.

"So," I said carefully, "is Vicky your girlfriend, or?"

Max hesitated before answering me. "Uh, not really. Your party last night was the first time I asked her out." He took a breath before continuing, and his next sentence came out in a rush.

"Rose, the thing is – the thing is, is that I really like Lily. I've liked her for awhile, but I just don't want to tell her because I don't want to make a fool of myself. Plus, James and Albus are really scary, and her father is Harry Potter, for God's sake.

"But you know her well. Do I, do you maybe think that I have a, you know, a shot?"

I grinned. "Max, I think you have a very good shot. Trust me."

"Has she mentioned anything to you?"

"Well, no," I said, and Max's face fell just the slightest inch "but I just have a feeling. I could help you, if you want? Tell you the best way to approach her, see if I can get any information out of her?" Since I was already ninety percent sure Lily felt the same way, it would be a piece of cake.

"You would? Rose, you're the absolute best," Max exclaimed. Benedick walked around the table posts, and he leaned his hand down for the cat to sniff it.

"First step, though," I said, quirking an eyebrow, "no more introducing her to random girls from work for the time being."

He laughed. "Deal."

"Oh, and one other thing – Albus and James are really not scary. They act like it, but they're like teddy bears on the inside."

"Easy for you to say," he snorted, "they're your family."

I had to give him credit. It probably wasn't easy to be around the older brothers of the girl you liked, never mind that they were the kids of the most famous wizard of all time.

Benny jumped onto my lap, and I petted him softly. "There's one thing I still don't get," I said slowly.

"Shoot."

"How come you brought Victoria?"

Max chewed his bottom lip. "Wow, that makes me seem like the biggest jerk in the world, doesn't it? First I show up with a girl to your party, and the next day I'm spilling my guts and telling you how much I like your cousin."

I laughed. "Well, it doesn't exactly put you in the best light."

"I don't know – I guess I had kind of given up on Lily. But last night, I realized I'd rather have spent the night with her as my friend then with any girl that was my current pick of the night."

I cocked my head to one side. "Max, that's so sweet."

He rolled his eyes. "I know. I'm such a mush. If you ever tell anyone this, I will personally come into your room at night and dye your hair blue."

"You should just tell her how you feel." You're such a hypocrite, Rose. Hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite.

"Well, I might, if your plan doesn't work first? Please, Rose?"

"But we don't even have a plan yet!"

"We'll come up with one, a really good one. You're smarter than anyone I know. Please?"

I sighed. "Of course, of course. I'll help you out."

He grinned. "You're the best, Rose."

"So I've been told," I said dryly.

"Anyway, I've got to run," Max said. "But thank you for everything. And not a word, Rose, I mean it!" He stood up and made his way to the door.

I crossed my chest, right over where my heart was. "Promise," I replied.

Giving me one last grin, he closed the door behind him, and I was left with an empty kitchen.

* * *

**note**: hopefully, you're still here! please leave a review. i'd honestly love to hear your thoughts. no favouriting without reviewing, please please.


	2. Chapter 2

**note**: before i forget, i am not jk rowling, and nothing belongs to me but max and peyton (obviously).

* * *

_cuddle me up, cover me in_

**ed sheeran**

-:-

I arrived at the mall in jeans and a light jacket, and Scorpius arrived with a black sweater and an easy grin.

"Hey you," he smiled as I approached him at the water fountain, "I've been waiting ages."

"Yeah, right," I said dryly, "I'm right on time. And you're certainly never one to be early."

"Touche," he smirked. "Can we grab a coffee first, though? I'm desperate for one."

I agreed, and we headed to our favourite kiosk for the coffee. The three of us had discovered the mall when we first moved out on our own, and absolutely adored it. Personally, I thought Muggle malls were one of the greatest inventions alive, and in all honestly, so did Albus and Scorpius. (But you didn't hear that from me.) Many a Saturday afternoon were spent killing time here. My mother loved it, she loved that the three of us were so into the Muggle world, much more than any of my other cousins. Personally, I thought Al and I took after our grandfather. And as for Scorpius, I thought it was just another way to prove to his family how history would not repeat itself.

"I'd like two medium roasts, please, one large and one small," Scorpius said to the man behind the counter. Grabbing the coffees and the giving the man money, he poured milk into the small cup and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I took the coffee from him, taking a sip. "So, what were you planning on getting Astara?"

"Honestly, I have no idea – what is one supposed to get their sixteen year old sister for her birthday? They should have a guide book for younger sisters, I swear." Scorpius looked at me thoughtfully. "Y'know, you're probably the worst person to bring on this trip. You're going to recommend a book, aren't you?" His eyes sparkled with mischief.

I stuck my nose in the air mockingly. "Well, fine, if that's how you see it, I best be on my way, sir. Good day." I quickened my pace to get ahead of him.

"Whatever. I don't need your help anyway. I'm perfectly in tune to girl world."

I snorted and turned around. "Is this your way of telling me you're ready to come out of the closet?"

He shrugged. "Albus is pretty cute, you have to admit," he said, looking at me over the rim of the coffee cup. But the twinkle in his eyes let me know he was joking.

I shook my head and resumed my place beside him, and we began to wander. Scorpius leaned his head close to me and mumbled, "10 o'clock. State name, occupation, spouse."

Observing the dark haired woman who was indeed at the 10 o'clock mark from us, I sized her up before she was out of view. Black glasses, mom jeans, light makeup. Sensible shoes, definitely a wedding band, and a bag from a toddler store.

"Maureen. Two kids, aged four and six. Both boys. Married for six, no wait, five years. Drives a red minivan and works as a receptionist at a doctor's office part time."

Scorpius nodded slowly. "Good, good. Although, I had a slight inclination to call her Susan."

"Hm, that's good as well. Although I do feel Maureen has a slightly more mom feel, as opposed to Susan? I find that name very grandmotherly."

"Yes, yes I do see your point."

"7 o'clock. Name, occupation, spouse."

I gave him a moment to think about it. The man I had pointed out to him had a leather bag slung over his shoulder, a clean haircut, and a coffee in his hand. In his other, he was furiously typing away on his cell phone.

"Dave. Works with computers. Not married, but has a girlfriend named Grace. No wait, Stephanie. They've been dating for about a year now."

We continued walking around and creating stories for the people around us. Sometimes I found it strange – that there were so many people around us, so many different lives right near us, and yet we hadn't a clue what went on in them, or who these people really were.

"Hey," I looked past Scorpius to a brightly coloured dress store, "didn't Astara love the Muggle clothes you bought her last year? Why not try a dress?"

Scorpius raised his brows. "Not a bad idea, Weasley."

We headed into the dress store, and were immediately greeted by a friendly salesperson. "If you need anything, just let me know," she chirped.

The two of use got to work sorting through dresses. It was not a task for the weak. My arms quickly grew tired of sifting through rows and rows of chiffon, silk, and velvet.

"What about this one?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face. I held it up to me and sucked my face in like a model, turning my head to the side. It was a hideous green number, with bright blue flowers and ladybugs.

"You can top it off with this hat," Scorpius grinned, grabbing a purple hat from a nearby shelf and sticking it on my head. "I think it looks bloody fantastic."

I turned to observe myself in the mirror, the floppy hat coming down over my eyes and the ladybug dress held over me, and I laughed. "My next look. I'll wear it to our next party."

"Remind me not to come within ten feet of you."

I replaced the hat and the dress, and continued my search. Yanking free a pretty pink dress, I held it out to him. "What about this one?"

He looked at it up and down. "Yeah, that one's nice, actually. Do me a favour and try it on?"

Oh, God. I was not interested in trying on a dress in front of my _very attractive_ male best friend.

"Please? You're short. If it fits you, it has a better chance of fitting her."

"You own me one, Malfoy." I replied, whisking the dress to the back where the change rooms were located.

"Hi there! How you are two!" the lady behind the counter said, her cheeks stretched so far into a fake smile that it seemed as though her face would crack at any moment. Without waiting for a reply, she said just as cheerfully, "How many items!"

"Uhm, just one," I said, eyeing Scorpius.

"Perfect!" she said. "Let me get you a room!"

I followed her to the changeroom near the back, and Scorpius gave me a huge, over the top grin behind her back, mocking her. I nearly dissolved in a fit of giggles right there. Unlocking the changeroom for me, she turned around and said, "Here you are! My name's Denise if you need anything!"

"Great!" I said, matching her enthusiasm. Scorpius caught my eye above her head, and gave a jolt of silent laughter. She obviously did not catch my sarcasm (thank God) and gave me one last bright smile that could make midnight seem like four in the afternoon before leaving us alone.

Scorpius made himself comfortable in the chair across from my room, and I shut the door behind me.

"So?" He called after a few minutes, "how's it coming?"

"Good," I gasped, overwhelmed in frilly pink fabric. "I think the zipper's stuck, though."

"Need help?"

"Nope, no," I blushed, "I think – ah, yes, I've got it." I turned around to look in the mirror. It was a pretty dress, with a bejeweled to, and bottom that flowed down in light frills. It fit okay, too. The problem was my hair. It looked so horrible with the pink that I almost wanted to laugh.

"And?" Scorpius called again through the door, snapping me from my thoughts. I opened the door and stepped out.

"You look really pretty," Scorpius blurted.

I felt my face go red – stupid Weasley genes. "Thank you, kind sir," I replied, as smoothly and lightly as possible. "Is it a keeper for Astara, then?"

He nodded. "Definitely."

Heading back into the changeroom, I gathered my nerves and called, "So, did you manage to keep the fort under control last night? Albus said you stayed a bit afterward."

There was a pause on the other side, then "-yeah, uh, I did."

"Cool," I said, for lack of anything else to say, "thank you for helping clean up."

"It was no trouble," he replied. Another pause. "Actually, Rose, there's something I wanted to tell you.

"Lucy and I kind of hooked up last night."

My hand froze on the button of my jeans and a rock fell straight to the pit of my stomach. Never before had I been so grateful for a door to hide my expression. My mouth was too dry to respond, and I only gained control of my body functions until after he added, "I hope you don't mind."

Mind? Who, me? Of course not!

I pulled on my shirt. "Mind, Who, me? Of course not!" I tried my best to sound as normal and non-squeaky as possible. "Why would I mind?"

"Well, y'know, Lucy being your cousin and all," he coughed. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, before you heard through the grapevine, or something."

I pulled on a trainer. "Do you like her?" I asked, wincing as soon as the words were out of my mouth. I sounded like a whiny fifteen year old. "I mean, was this big for you?"

"No, not at all," he rushed, "It just sort of happened. It was a mutual one night thing."

I leaned my head against the mirror. Slipping on my other trainer, I opened the door. Putting on what I hoped was a convincing, bright smile, I said, "Well, I glad it turned out all right for you." _Glad it turned out all right for you_? What? Stupid Rose.

His grey eyes scanned my face. "So, you're not mad?"

I forced another grin. "Mad? Of course not, silly, why would I be mad?" With all my fake smiling, I felt a bit like Denise. I could totally work in retail.

He shrugged. "No reason," he mumbled, and we headed to the front of the store to pay.

* * *

When Albus came into the kitchen later that afternoon, I was furiously dusting the kitchen cabinets. "Whoa, speed racer," he said, opening one and retrieving a glass, "slow down."

I kept rubbing the nonexistent dust out of the cabinets. Filling his glass with tap water, he turned around to face me. I could feel his eyes on me, and I ignored him.

Except being watched gets kind of irritating, if I'm totally honest.

Whirling around, I faced him. "_What_?"

He held his hands in the air in mock surrender. "Nothing," he said, taking a sip of his water. "But the only time you ever clean like a mental person," he indicated to the dusting rag with his glass of water, "is when you're upset. And the kitchen is spotless." He ran a hand against the kitchen sink for good measure.

"_Nothing_'s wrong," I retorted, "I just felt this place could you use a bit of cleaning, that's all."

He just looked at me, and took another sip of his water. I wanted to knock that stupid glass out of his stupid hands. I knew he could tell I was lying, too.

"Fine!" I cried. "Something's wrong, you're right." I leaned my hand on the counter and rested my head on my shoulder.

"Really. Hadn't noticed," he commented dryly. I shot him a glare. "Does it have anything to do with my blond best friend, by any chance?"

I scoffed. "No."

"Rosie."

"Yes, fine, it does," I relented. "He's just stupid, that's all."

"What'd he do?" Al asked. I remained silent. I could not form the words in my mouth. Al's eyes widened. "He didn't actually, y'know, sleep with…" he trailed off, looking at me inquisitively.

I dropped my eyes to the floor, nodding my head.

Al gave a low whistle. "Wow. I'm sorry, Rosie." As an afterthought, he added. "With _Lucy_?"

"Yes!" I snapped, "With Lucy! We just went over this."

"Sorry, sorry," he said hastily. "It's just.. Lucy. Y'know? With her glasses and I don't know, it just weirding me out a little."

"It's probably because she was ready and available," I grumbled, getting my head of shoulder. I turned my back to the counter and leaned against it.

Al cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. "Probably."

"Does this mean I get to call her a random whore now?" I asked, brightening.

"Absolutely not."

"Jerk," I muttered, grabbing the water glass from his hand and gulping it down all in one shot. I wished it was Firewhiskey.

"Hey!" Al took the glass back from my hands and refilled it. "You know what you need?"

"What?"

"A fun night out. We'll go to a Muggle club! It'll be great," he said enthusiastically,

I really wasn't in the mood to go clubbing, but then again. Maybe a night out was just what I needed. I agreed, and Al looked like all his Christmases had come early.

"So, are they dating now, or what?" Al asked, putting his now empty glass in the sink.

I shook my head. "Nah, he said it was just a one night thing." I looked down at my nails, and noticed I had bitten them down to a quick. I needed to paint them, too. Maybe purple.

"Rosie!" He cried. "What are you even worried about for, then?"

"He slept with her, Al," I rolled my eyes. "It's like, she's marked her territory. Plus, now, if something ever does happen, I'll have Lucy's leftovers. She's already run her hands all over him." I shuddered at the thought.

"Girls," Al said, and it was his turn to roll his eyes."you're all so friggin' bizarre. He said it was a one night thing. So chill out."

"Yeah, I'll try," I reasoned, meaning every word. "Lily gets off at four, right?" I asked, glancing at the clock, and Al nodded. It was ten after. Perfect. "I'm Flooing to your parents house, I need to borrow a dress from Lily."

"Don't end up in China."

* * *

Stumbling out of the fireplace, I knocked over a lamp and stack of books on the side table. Righting the lamp and the dusting myself off, I headed into the kitchen.

"Lily?" I called. "Oh, hello, mum, dad." I entered the kitchen to find my mother and father at the table with Harry. Plates littered with sandwich crusts and apple cores cluttered the table, as did a half bag of crisps. They were reading the Daily Prophet and The Quibbler respectively.

"Hello, Rosie," my dad exclaimed. "How's my girl?"

"Oh, fine, fine," I answered, kissing their cheeks. "Just popped round to borrow a dress from Lily." I took a seat across from my mother across the head, and pulled the bag of crisps towards me.

Always curious, my mum immediately replied with "why do you need a dress? Oh, and fix your shirt."

Looking down, I adjusted my shirt and replied sheepishly, "Al and I are going out to a Muggle club tonight."

Bloody hell. Twenty years old and still embarrassed to tell my parents I was going to a club.

At the mention of his Al's name, Harry's head snapped up. "He's not getting you in any trouble is he, Rosie?"

"Who, Al? Nah, of course, not," I shook my head.

"You let me know if he is, and I'll kick his ass for you," replied Harry.

"And I'll help," Dad grumbled.

"Stop, both of you," said Mum, rolling her eyes, "Al and Rose get along just fine."

"I'm just letting her know, Hermione," said Harry, throwing me a wink.

"Bloody- would you look at this, Hermione!" Dad exclaimed, passing his copy of the Prophet to Mum. I watched as her face turned into an expression of surprise, her eyes furiously scanning the page. "You've got to be kidding," she muttered as I munched on crisps, "Harry, take a look."

As Harry was reading the article, I turned to my parents. "Is something wrong?" I asked. I received no answer from my parents, how annoying.

Harry finished the article pushed it aside. "What is it, Uncle Harry?" I probed.

"Nothing's wrong, Rosie. Just a journalist we got into a spot of trouble with many years ago." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, his glasses dangerously close to the edge of the table.

"A 'spot' of trouble is one way to put it," Mum said, absent-mindedly pushing the glasses closer to the middle of the table. "You know Rita Skeeter, Rose? The author of Dumbledore's biography?"

"The one you said was rubbish? Yeah, I remember her," I frowned. "Man, she must be _ancient_ by now."

Dad laughed. "No doubt! I wonder if she's writing from a rocker?" Harry and my dad clearly got amusement from that mental image.

"Honestly, you two," Mum retorted, "Anigmagi live longer than most wizards."

"Rita Skeeter is an Animagus? No _way_!" I cried. "What is she?

"A beetle," Harry stated plainly, "a nasty, ugly, black beetle. Your mother held her captive in jar once, actually."

My head whipped around to stare at my mother. "Is he joking?" I asked warily.

She shook her head. "No, its true," she replied, giving me a proud smile.

Harry leaned closer to me. "To be honest with you, your mother always was a bit mad," he whispered loudly. "We thought it might fade with age, but it hasn't yet, sadly." The corners of his moth twitched, and I smirked.

"At least you didn't marry her," Dad remarked dryly, taking a sip of his tea.

"Hmmph," said Mum, turning her eyes to her magazine. 'I don't know why I chose to spend my life you people. Especially marry you-" she pointed at my dad, "worst mistake. And you're both awful friends." She flicked through the pages too fast to be actually reading them, and I saw her trying to contain her laugh.

One of the many things I loved about my parents' marriage was their friendship. They had been best friends for years, and I adored how they still were. They always brought up the fact as well, that they were best friends, and it made me love the relationship they had.

"So, anyway," I cut in, pushing the now empty bag of crisps away from me, "why was Rita an Animagus?"

"It's a long story, Rose," said Mum. "I'll tell you another day." I wanted to push the subject, but I could tell she wasn't interested in pursuing the subject. That was the thing with the three of them – I had to be careful sometimes, about what I said about their teenage years. I still wasn't sure what was sensitive topics, and I'm sure there was plenty they didn't tell us – anyone, for that matter.

"What's she writing, anyway?" I asked.

"Gossip column," Harry answered. "Complete rubbish, as usual." Mum gave him a look, but then relented. "You're right," she said, "It is rubbish."

"It's Skeeter," Dad said, standing up to clear the plates. "What do you expect?"

"Rose?" I heard Lily call from the top of the stairs, "Is that you?"

"Yeah!" Turning to my family, I remarked, "there's my cue," and left the table.

* * *

**note**: please please please please don't favourite/follow without reviewing, thankyou! it bothers me more than green cars, and that is seriously saying something. hope you liked it!

oh, fun fact - rose was actually supposed to be lily in the beginning, but that got changed half an hour into the story.


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